NCSW hopes for better environment for working women

23/12/2013
National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Khawar Mumtaz said lack of awareness about Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 was the biggest hurdle in its effective implementation.

Sharing her views on the eve of National Working Women Day to be observed every year on December 22, she eulogised the services of working women rendered for the country.

The day is observed to acknowledge the struggle of working women in securing a dignified and respectful working environment.

It is also celebrated to acknowledge the economic contributions made by women to the country as women are increasingly joining the ranks of doctors, engineers, lawyers, judges, journalists, armed forces, scientists and business administrators.

In a statement issued on Saturday Khawar said, NCSW collaborated with the Pakistan government and other civil society organisations to facilitate the women who have entered the mainstream society and are practically contributing in national economy. She said successive federal and provincial governments in Pakistan showed commitment to the cause of women and promulgation of the `Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010' was manifestation of government resolve to address the concerns and issues of working women. She said it was a landmark move to help Pakistani women work without fear of being harassed or discriminated.

The government has recently introduced the online facility for victims of harassment at workplace through Federal Ombudsman Secretariat (FOS) for the implementation of the act.

Khawar said most of the private and public sector organisations are not implementing the law in letter and spirit like the mandatory requirement to display the copies of code of conduct in English.

"The organisations may be fined up to Rs 100,000 if an employee lodges a complaint of harassment," she added.

NCSW chief stressed the need of acknowledging the rights and contributions of home-based workers and introducing policies and laws for them. The country now has a legal obligation to comply with international laws and is monitored by the International Labour Organisation's Committee on Application of Standards, she said.

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Acid attacks a serious concern in Pakistan

(Edited text of a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission: AHRC-STM-018-2010)

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received photographs from Mr Javed Kapoor showing the extent of the gender-based violence in Pakistan and the concrete consequences of the misogynist mindset spreading within the Pakistani middle-class. The AHRC is working on those acid throwing cases as part of its involvement in denouncing human rights violations across Asia.

On 26 January 2010, a bill regarding acid violence—which would specifically target acid related crimes by providing graver punishments for the attackers and by regulating the sale and purchase of acid—will be submitted to the National Assembly of Pakistan. But this only marks the beginning of a long legislative process and it will require some time before the law is successfully adopted and effectively enforced. It will also require a strong political will, which until now, has proven inadequate, if not nonexistent. Indeed, in most of those cases, the judicial institutions have not taken stern sanctions against the perpetrators, which have often been able to walk away in total impunity. Nor has adequate compensation and support been granted to the victims.

	Irum Saeed, 30, poses for a photograph at her office at the Urdu University of Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, July 24, 2008. Irum was burned on her face, back and shoulders twelve years ago when a boy whom she rejected for marriage threw acid on her in the middle of the street. She has undergone plastic surgery 25 times to try to recover from her scars.
	Shameem Akhter, 18, poses for a photograph at her home in Jhang, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 10, 2008. Shameem was raped by three boys who then threw acid on her three years ago. Shameem has undergone plastic surgery 10 times to try to recover from her scars.
	Shehnaz Usman, 36, poses for a photograph in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008. Shehnaz was burned with acid by a relative due to a familial dispute five years ago. Shehnaz has undergone plastic surgery 10 times to try to recover from her scars.
	Najaf Sultana, 16, poses for a photograph at her home in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. At the age of five Najaf was burned by her father while she was sleeping, apparently because he didn't want to have another girl in the family. As a result of the burning Najaf became blind and after being abandoned by both her parents she now lives with relatives. She has undergone plastic surgery around 15 times to try to recover from her scars.
	Shahnaz Bibi, 35, poses for a photograph in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, ct. 26, 2008. Ten years ago Shahnaz was burned with acid by a relative due to a familial dispute. She has never undergone plastic surgery.
	Kanwal Kayum, 26, adjusts her veil as she poses for a photograph in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008. Kanwal was burned with acid one year ago by a boy whom she rejected for marriage. She has never undergone plastic surgery.
	Munira Asef, 23, poses for a photograph in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008. Munira was burned with acid five years ago by a boy whom she rejected for marriage. She has undergone plastic surgery 7 times to try to recover from her scars.
	Memuna Khan, 21, poses for a photograph in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008. Menuna was burned by a group of boys who threw acid on her to settle a dispute between their family and Menuna's. She has undergone plastic surgery 21 times to try to recover from her scars.
	Zainab Bibi, 17, adjusts her veil as she poses for a photograph in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Zainab was burned on her face with acid thrown by a boy whom she rejected for marriage five years ago. She has undergone plastic surgery several times to try to recover from her scars.
	Naila Farhat, 19, poses for a photograph in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Naila was burned on her face with acid thrown by a boy whom she rejected for marriage five years ago. She has undergone plastic surgery several times to try to recover from her scars.
	Saira Liaqat, 26, poses for the camera at her home in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 9, 2008. When she was fifteen, Saira was married to a relative who would later attack her with acid after insistently demanding her to live with him, although the families had agreed she wouldn't join him until she finished school. Saira has undergone plastic surgery 9 times to try to recover from her scars.

The case of Naila Farhat (see picture above) was brought to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in November 2008 and received enormous publicity. In this specific case, the perpetrator was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and ordered to pay 1.2 million rupees in damages. This represents a landmark decision in dealing with gender-related violence, but the judgment could not stop the menace of acid-throwing. It is important to recognize that this decision was an exception in the landscape of acid attacks in Pakistan; in most cases the measures taken—if any—are not proportionate to the sufferings inflicted by the attacks.

Most acid-attacks are punishing measures towards women who have refused to accede to commands from men or have stood against abuses from them. The effects of these acid attacks upon their lives have been destructive: apart from the physical trauma undergone (some are scarred and maimed for life, despite numerous surgical interventions), they also have to face psychological trauma as well as social isolation and ostracism from their community. A law against acid crimes will hardly act as a deterrent when perpetrators know that if they have enough resources and leverage they can shrug off any charge held against them, no matter the atrocity.

From the victims’ point of view, there is a high risk of denial of justice, and the numerous obstacles they can face in their pursuit of justice may act as a strong disincentive preventing them from reporting the attacks. Indeed, the status of women in Pakistan, subject on the one hand to pressures not to disgrace their families by filing a case, and on the other hand, to disdain from the police officers themselves, will add to the obstacles faced by any average Pakistani seeking justice within a corrupted policing system and administration.

16 killed in clash in China's restive Xinjiang region

16/12/2013

Beijing  -- Sixteen people have been killed in violence in China's volatile western region of Xinjiang, state media reported Monday.

Two police officers chasing suspects came under attack late Sunday from people with machetes and explosive devices in Shufu county, near the city of Kashgar, said Tianshan, a news website run by the Xinjiang government.

In the clash that ensued, two police officers died and 14 "gang members" were shot and killed, Tianshan reported. It described what happened as a "terrorist attack."

Police detained two suspects, the report said, and the violence is under further investigation.

Deadly unrest frequently breaks out in Xinjiang, a large, resource-rich region that is home to the Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim ethnic group.

The arrival of waves of Han Chinese people over the decades has fueled tensions with the Uyghurs. Chinese authorities have cracked down heavily on violence involving Uyghurs, deepening resentment.

The Tianshan report Monday didn't specify the ethnicity of the people involved in the clash with police.

The details of violent clashes in Xinjiang often remain murky. Uyghur diaspora groups, like the World Uyghur Congress, have criticized the Chinese government for the lack of transparency over such events.

Xinjiang government officials didn't immediately return calls from CNN seeking further information on Sunday's violence.

Chinese authorities have blamed Uyghurs for a vehicle attack in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October that killed five people -- including the three in the vehicle -- and wounded 40 others.

Xinjiang's worst violence in decades took place in July 2009, when rioting in the capital, Urumqi, between Uyghurs and Han Chinese killed some 200 people and injured 1,700. That unrest was followed by a crackdown by security forces.

Xinjiang is now home to more than 8 million Han Chinese, up from 220,000 in 1949, and 10 million Uyghurs. The newcomers take most of the new jobs, and unemployment among Uyghurs is high.

They complain of discrimination and harsh treatment by security forces, despite official promises of equal rights and ethnic harmony.

Beijing accuses some Uyghur groups of trying to establish an independent state.

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Lahore woman throws three daughters into canal

November 07, 2013

LAHORE: A mentally challenged woman threw her three daughters into a canal on Thursday, rescue sources said.

The sources said that body of an ill-fated child was recovered while search for two others was still underway.

Police said that the woman identified as Razia threw her three daughters into BRB canal and was taken into custody. Names and ages of the girls were yet to be known.
 

Kabaddi World Cup: England women's team demands gender test on Pakistan players

12/12/2013

England contingent alleges that some of the Pakistan women players played the game like male participants.

Controversy struck the ongoing fourth edition of the Kabaddi World Cup in India when England women's team officials demanded a gender test on three players from the Pakistan team on Wednesday. Pakistan women's team, who took part in the tournament for the first time, have been knocked out of the event by India.

England Kabaddi Federation alleged that Pakistan players have masculine physique and are playing the sport like male athletes. The English body also alleged that the entire issue was being swept under the carpet despite their raised grievances. The English federation voiced their complaints in a letter to Punjab's director of sports Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon.

"Prior to our match against Pakistan at Jalalabad on December 7, I submitted a letter raising serious doubts about three players who we suspect are of male gender. All the women teams are put up at the same hotel and we have had sufficient time to observe the behavior of these players," Kawal Das, England Kabaddi Federation general secretary, was quoted as saying in the Times of India.

Das says that a team of doctors were to look into the matter but the plan was cancelled after Pakistani officials made requests. England kabaddi coach Ashok Das, who is also the president of the England Kabaddi Federation, said they had made the complaint on December 7 and 8 however, no action was taken by the concerned authorities.

"How can they think of including kabaddi in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games if you ignore such a serious issue?," said one of the officials.

On the other hand, tournament direction Shiv Dev Singh admitted that complaints were made by the England team management but said the players under doubt may have male hormones being from an athletic background.

"There is no question of male or transgenders playing in the team. The players in question were professional throwers and might be having male hormones. This can be checked by dope tests," Dev Singh said.

Dev Singh said that only an expert can take a call on an issue of alleged doping as such issues do not fall under his domain.

India will take New Zealand in the final of the tournament in Jalandhar on Thursday after beating Pakistan 46-12 in the semis on Wednesday.

India win women's Kabaddi World Cup2013

12/12/2013
Jalandhar:  India clinched the women's Kabaddi World Cup championship for the third time in a row, defeating debutant New Zealand 49-21 in the summit clash played at Guru Gobind Singh sports complex here on Thursday.

The Indian eves led their New Zealand counterparts for most part of the match and held out a strong challenge by the visitors in the second half, on course to a resounding win.

The Indian team took home a first-place prize of Rs one crore.

Anu Rani was adjudged the best stopper while Ram Bateri was declared the best raider. Both received a Maruti Alto car each